The Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut (AUB) was inaugurated in 2006 to harness the policy-related research of AUB's internationally respected faculty and other scholars, in order to contribute positively to Arab policy-making and international relations.

The Issam Fares Institute is a neutral, dynamic, civil, and open space that brings together people representing all viewpoints in society.

It aims to: raise the quality of public policy-related debate and decision-making in the Arab World and abroad; enhance the Arab World's input into international affairs; and, enrich the quality of interaction among scholars, officials and civil society actors in the Middle East and abroad.